Habakkuk 2:12  Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
13  Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity?
14  For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

I watched a clip yesterday regarding the sodomite agenda. The interview was with a girl and her mother with regard to a boy claiming to be a girl, who was playing on the opposing basketball team. The girl had determined that she would not compete against a boy. We will address the matter of sports in the future, but for today I just wanted to show the depravity of our society. The parents of this girl supported their daughter; however, she had to take the initiative to not compete against boys. The school did not support the girl’s position. The teachers’ union came out against the girl. We are living in a wicked society. Those who are saved need to speak up and remind the world that there are only two genders: male and female. We should be ashamed of ourselves in trying to hide behind an ungodly president who was willing to sign an executive order stating there are only two genders. We know that from the Bible!
The Bible is God’s Word. God loves man and He has demonstrated that in many ways. He does not want people to become sodomites and He does not want them to go to hell. There is no such a thing as a “Christian” sodomite. Romans 1 is very clear on the origins of that wicked lifestyle and God has already declared what has happened to anyone who turns to being a sodomite. He has also declared what the end will be for those who are sodomites. We are reminded again that born again Christians should not have their children in the public system. They are not getting an education there. They are being brainwashed and intentionally indoctrinated in a lie against God. The public education system is not a minor issue. It is an act of blatant defiance against God.

In our text, we come now to the third woe against Babylon. Remember, Habakkuk had wondered about God’s wisdom in choosing Babylon as the vehicle by which He would punish Judah. God knew exactly what He was doing. He reminded Habakkuk of the sins of Babylon. That did not stop Him from using Babylon to punish Judah. There was an important lesson here for Judah and for Habakkuk.
Judah had done much worse than Babylon in that they had rejected the God of heaven as their God. God had made them a nation. He made them solely to be a testimony of His nature to the rest of the nations. That is a far greater crime, if we want to weigh sins, than abusing human beings. Crimes against humanity are serious indeed. God will judge each person who abuses another human being. However, to think a person can live a just life while rejecting the true God is the height of delusional thought.
In our text, Babylon was exposed as being guilty of building its empire through violence. They had shed much innocent blood to advance their boundaries. They had instilled a fear into the hearts of many through their violent means.
Again as we compare the events in the book of Daniel, we see that the king built a very large idol and then demanded that everyone bow to that idol at his command. He used music as the tool to enact his command. Three men refused to bow to that image. His threat was that anyone who would not bow to that image, would be cast into the fiery furnace. That would be a sure death.
The king showed some “mercy” in giving Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego a second chance to comply with his wicked demand. They did not need time to reconsider their position. They did not speak with any arrogance. They simply declared that their God would deliver them out of the hand of the king. They did not know how He would do that, but they were confident He would take care of them. God miraculously spared their lives and also showed the king that He was right there with them in the fire. They were called out of that fire and there was no evidence they had ever been near a fire, never mind in this intense heat.
Even if they would have died, they would have been delivered from the wicked king’s hands. The king was quite ready to use violence to advance his agenda. None of this went unnoticed to God. Evil nations seem to get away with their evil deeds for a time, but that is only if we look with humanistic glasses. Hitler knows better now, but it is too late for him and for his many henchmen. The same is true for our ungodly governments. They are not getting away with anything. God’s judgment is always just.
In verse 13 we see that the judgment of the LORD would be sure and powerful. The LORD is that Jehovah God Who will do exactly as He says. No one stands in His way. Babylon would be judged by fire. We know that the book of the Revelation speaks of the sudden crash of the Babylonian system. We know that Babylon first fell suddenly at the hands of the Medes and the Persians. That was a very sudden invasion and it was very devastating to the Babylonian empire. It never came back from that defeat. The philosophy of Babylon was adapted into the Medo/Persian empire. That same system will be active in the Tribulation, but it will come crashing down and that crash will be a shock to the world.
We know that at this time our world is focused on economics. Even in listening to the U.S., the talk there is of the massive financial corruption that has taken place in the past. There is no talk of the thousands upon thousands of babies that have been murdered. There is no talk of rejecting the sodomite practices. Yes, they have declared there are only two genders, but that does not stop men from abusing boys. Our own country is equally guilty before the LORD. The economic woes are minor compared to the moral collapse of our nations. There is no interest in addressing those very serious matters.
In our text, the Babylonians would weary themselves as they tried to recover from the devastation of God’s judgment against them. There is no recovery when God pours out His wrath on a people.
In verse 14 we are reminded that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD. That was Habakkuk’s duty. He was raised up to proclaim the truth, not to complain about God’s ways. The same is true for us today. Those who are saved are commanded to make the true God known. There is so much deception within religious circles.
Those who are saved need to pray:

Ephesians 6:19  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

We need to stop hiding in our closets. We need to speak the truth with conviction. It is true that the threats against the truth are very real. However, the fires of hell are even more real, and thousands upon thousands are already in that fire and thousands upon thousands more are facing that very real end. The apostle Paul did not concern himself with being silenced even if in prison. He would speak clearly and boldly for the Lord.
We need to do the same. The knowledge of the glory of the LORD needs to be proclaimed over the entire earth. We are thankful for the opportunity we have to go into many nations with the Gospel. All of our services are broadcast into many different nations every month. We have done this since the Wuhan virus came. God has given us a great open door to proclaim His truth far and wide. We count it a privilege to be able to make His name known in so many places. God is in charge of the results. Our duty is to proclaim His glory as the waters cover the sea.
Pastor Bartel